Riots seen in Venezuela

sbs.com.au 14.6.2003. 15:48:54 At least 14 people have been injured in street battles between Venezuelan troops and police and supporters of President Hugo Chavez. The Chavez supporters had tried to disrupt an opposition rally in a poor area of the capital, Caracas, considered a government stronghold. Police and National Guardsmen in armoured personnel carriers used tear gas to disperse about 100 Chavez supporters before the bulk of the opposition marchers could arrive in the eastern Caracas neighbourhood of Petare. The Chavistas, as the president's supporters are known, fought back, throwing bottles, rocks, fireworks and petrol bombs at security forces. Venezuela is split between those who see Chavez as a champion of the poor and those who fear he is trying to remodel Venezuela in the style of Cuba's communist regime. Source: WorldNews

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